Most people in the world think that dandruff is one harmless condition yet uncomfortable and disturbing your appearance. Its symptoms are easy to spot such as white, oily-looking flakes of dead skin that dot your hair or shoulders and also possibly dot your cloths and make your cloths look dirty. You also have to know that it will cause a possibly itchy, scaly scalp and often make you eagerly to scratch your head’s skin.
For you who live in country with four season, dandruff may worsen during the fall and winter, when indoor heating can contribute to dry skin, and improve during the summer when the heat is increasing and sweat will make the moist hair and skin, then worsen the itchiness on your head.
This condition also happens not only to teens and adults, but also to some children and babies. So this condition can be disturbing with the itchiness and the white flakes of dead skin which appear on the hair, shoulders and also on the surface of other places on the skin.
A type of dandruff called cradle cap is one kind of dandruff which can affect babies. This disorder, which causes a scaly, crusty scalp on baby’s skin, is most common in newborns, but it also can occur anytime during infancy. Although cradle cap can be alarming for parents because sometimes it also make baby feels uncomfortable, it isn’t dangerous for babies and usually clears up on its own.
So if you or your baby have dandruff, you better get some information to do some dandruff treatments before it getting worse. However, before you do so, you better know first about what causes dandruff that makes dandruff appear on your skin. So, this is the information.
Causes of Dandruff
Dandruff is a chronic condition occurs when the scalp becomes dry or greasy and produces white flakes of dead skin that appear not only in the hair or shoulders, but also in the surface of skin on your body. Most people also think that this condition is anything that produces a flaky scalp.
There are several causes of dandruff that happen on your body, such as:
1. Irritated and oily skin (seborrheic dermatitis). This condition is one of the most frequent causes of dandruff that mostly happen to people. For your information, dandruff is not only happen on the head skin but also on other places. And this condition is marked by red, greasy skin covered with flaky white or yellow scales and may affect your scalp and other areas rich in oil glands, such as your eyebrows, the sides of your nose and the backs of your ears, your breastbone (sternum), your groin area, and sometimes your armpits.
2. If you are too busy to shampooing your hair or you just lazy and do not regularly wash your hair, oils and skin cells from your scalp can build up, and it on your head. So you have to shampooing often enough to prevent dandruff to happen.
3. Dandruff also can be caused by a yeast like fungus (malassezia). This fungus lives on the scalps of most adults. But, for some cases it irritates the scalp and can cause more skin cells to grow. This condition makes the extra skin cells die and fall off, then making them appear white and flaky in your hair or on your clothes. However, why malassezia irritates some scalps is not known yet.
4. One thing that you have to remember are about your skin’s sensitiveness to your hair care product. This is because sensitivity to hair care products (contact dermatitis) is one of the cause of dandruff. Sometimes sensitivities to certain ingredients in hair care products or hair dyes can cause a red, itchy, and scaly scalp on your head, and then it can cause dandruff to appear.
5. When you discuss about dandruff, you also will relate it with dry skin. Yes, of course dry skin is also one thing that causes dandruff as we already know. However, you have to know that flakes from dry skin are generally smaller and less oily than those from other causes of dandruff. And, the redness or inflammation is unlikely too. You will probably have dry skin on other parts of the body, such as your legs and arms, and other places on your body.
Dandruff Treatments
Almost anyone can have dandruff, but certain factors can make you more susceptible such as age, being male, oily hair and scalp, and certain illnesses. For age factor, dandruff usually begins in young adulthood or even some children, and continues through middle age. However, that does not mean that older adults do not get dandruff, and for some people the problem can be lifelong. That is why for adult, it is better to be more aware of the cleanliness of the body and hair, and also do frequent shampooing because it will remove flakes, reduces oiliness, and prevents dead skin cell buildup.
Being males also one factor that can make you more susceptible to get dandruff. It is because more men have dandruff and some researchers think male hormones may play a role about it. Other factor is oily hair and scalp because malassezia feeds on oils in your scalp. So, for that reason, having excessively oily skin and hair makes you more prone to dandruff and maybe you have to get more treatments because of that. Because of that, you can try reducing your use of hair products (e.g., gels and sprays), and eat a healthy diet.
The last factor that can make you get dandruff is because certain illnesses. The researchers said that for some reasons that are not clear, adults with neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease are more likely to develop seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff. It also can happen to people with HIV infection or those who have compromised immune systems from other conditions.
Generally, most cases of dandruff don’t require a doctor’s care and is not dangerous for people. However, in some cases, when this disorder is worsen and dandruff shampoos do not helping, you better go to see your doctor or a doctor who specializes in skin conditions (dermatologist) to get some treatments. That is because you may have seborrheic dermatitis or another condition that resembles dandruff, and the treatments will help you to get some ways to solve your problem.
To help you keep dandruff under control, you better do shampoo frequently, try reducing your use of hair products, drink enough water, and you also have to eat a healthy diet.
